The following description is provided to assist the understanding of the reader. None of the information provided or references cited is admitted to be prior art.
The lumbar spine refers to the lower back, and is where a human's spinal column curves inward toward the abdomen. The lumbar spine, which typically starts five to six inches below the shoulder blades, connects with the thoracic spine at the top and the sacral spine at the bottom. A human lumbar spine typically includes five vertebrae, although some individuals have four or six vertebrae in their lumbar spine. There are several different conditions that can affect the lumbar spine and cause pain, including disk problems, scoliosis and other spinal deformities, spondylolisthesis, stenosis, tumors, and fractures. These conditions may result from trauma, disease, and degenerative conditions caused by aging, injury, or may be idiopathic. Non-operative treatments such as physical therapy, medications, exercise, and/or injections may or may not relieve the symptoms associated with these disorders. Surgery may be used to help alleviate pain in some individuals who are suffering from disk problems and other ailments. Surgery may include decompression of the neural elements, correction of deformity, removal of disk material, instrumentation, and/or implantation of prosthetic devices.